From simple acts of helping an upset child calm down, to actual life-saving moments where colleagues have bravely stepped forward, we love to celebrate the wonderful things they do. And as today is national Thank You Thursday, it's the perfect moment to thank all our amazing colleagues and celebrate just a few of the heart-warming stories that make Asda people so special.

We all love Jean

Everyone at our Nottingham West Bridgford store really does love our wonderful colleague Jean. She is 89 and has no plans to retire after 45 years working at Asda. What great service! Colleagues paid Jean a surprise visit at home and took her for afternoon tea to celebrate her birthday and thank her for all her hard work. Find out more.

Wedding day waistcoat rescue

Mat Appleton and his fiancée Morgan had everything planned for their wedding day except for one little hitch, the groom was missing a waistcoat! Asda picked up the tweet and got their colleagues at George on to the case to make his special day outfit complete. They tracked down a waistcoat in the right size from the supplier, and the team managed to get it to Mat just in time for the big day. When he heard it was on its way a relieved Mat tweeted “Thanks for saving my wedding day!” Find out more.

Wheelchair dance studio

Colleagues at Asda Watford attended the opening of a wheelchair dance group’s refurbished studio which they helped to rebuild. Lin McGeough helps run the group and her husband Patrick is one of the dancers. She said: "A few of us got together to do some work on the studio last July and it was the hottest day of the year, but Beverley stayed all day. Some of her colleagues also turned up to help just when we were flagging in the heat which was very much appreciated. Find out more.

Lost letter returned

Checkout colleague Stacie Adamson found something very special when she was going through the store's lost property box at our Leigh store in Greater Manchester. She announced the discovery of a wartime love letter to thousands of Asda Facebook fans in an attempt to find the owners. The mystery was solved when the letter writer's daughter Barbara, 63, saw the appeal and recognised first her dad’s name and then her mum’s handwriting in a photo of the letter. Her sister Vivien, 69, always carries the letter around as a keepsake but had dropped it on one of her regular trips to Asda Leigh without realising. Thank you to the thousands of Asda Facebook fans who shared our colleague Stacie’s appeal to find the owners! Find out more.

Community centre upgrade

Trawden Forest Community Centre is getting a much-needed upgrade thanks to a £28,400 donation from the Asda Foundation. Volunteers took it on from Pendle Council in 2014 and the donation will go towards refurbishing the centre, including rewiring, a new extended kitchen, new seating and floor coverings, followed by re-decoration. Steve Wilcox, Chairperson for Trawden Community, said: "We’re absolutely delighted to be receiving this donation from the Asda Foundation." Find out more.

Colleague saves a life

Asda colleague Will Edwards was called an “angel from heaven” after he saved grandmother Anne Wade from her car when it burst into flames on the side of a motorway. They were reunited at our Wrexham store where Anne thanked our brave colleague for saving her life. Find out more.

Gateshead assisted shop

Our colleagues at our Gateshead store laid on afternoon tea and a special assisted shop for a group of local pensioners. Girl Guides chatted to the customers at the event, which was organised by the store’s Community Champion Lynn Ivison. Find out more.

Colleague helps after car crash

Asda customer Kathryn contacted us on social media to tell us how wonderful our Peterborough colleague Jo is. Jo stopped to help when she spotted Kathryn's car had crashed off a frozen country road. Kathryn said: "She was like an angel. She was brilliant and so reassuring." Find out more.

Ashton get a new parka

Colleagues at George pulled out the stops to track down a replacement for nine-year-old Ashton Fisher’s favourite parka when his mum Gemma got in touch to say she was desperate to find one. Ashton, who is being assessed for high-functioning autism, wears his navy parka constantly but he’s grown out of it and the item was discontinued a year ago. When Gemma got in touch via Facebook and explained how attached Ashton was to the jacket, the George team kicked off a global search … and were delighted when they got news there was one in the larger size Ashton needed at a factory in China. The Chinese suppliers dispatched the jacket, which they found in their archive, to our George HQ in Leicestershire and they sent it on to Gemma and Ashton. Find out more.

Lost teddy

When colleagues at our Govan store found this lost teddy with a distinctive hearing aid we posted an appeal on Facebook to try to track down the owner. It belongs to four-year-old Niko and he was reunited with it when his mum Magda Kruk, who’s a fan of Asda on Facebook, spotted the bear in her newsfeed. Find out more.